Thursday, October 3, 2013

I know. It's ridiculous that I'm writing this gazpacho recipe in October. I made it a few weeks ago and today is so warm I thought, why not share it, calendar truths be damned?

I call this pseudo gazpacho because it’s not a traditional
gazpacho as you may understand it, which typically comes together in the food
processor and it all gets pureed to smithereens and then stuck in the fridge.
This one came about by accident. I had frozen about 8 cups worth of tomato
puree leftover from my canning extravaganza a few weeks ago. Every time I went
into the freezer, no matter how well I thought I secured the quart containers,
one of them kept jumping out at me and landing on the floor. This happened two
or three times, and after the plastic container cracked and broke and I found
myself defrosting the contents in a larger bowl in the fridge, I thought, okay.
I need to put an end to this.

So what you have here, on this October day, is a gazpacho
that suffers not in taste but exhibits a different texture—you get a contrast
of the larger pieces of tomato against the puree, which I really enjoyed.

1.In a medium bowl, preferably one you can put a
lid on or easily cover, combine the garlic, cucumbers, and peppers.

2.Add the puree to the veggie bowl. Stir to
combine. Add several good turns of freshly ground black pepper and about 2 tsp.
of coarse salt. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

3.In a measuring cup, combine the oil and vinegar
and whisky to emulsify. About 20 minutes before you are ready to serve the
soup, put the chopped tomatoes in a separate medium bowl and add the
vinaigrette, tossing gently to combine.

4.Add the chopped tomatoes to the veggie puree and
return to the fridge to chill for no more than ½ hour, only if it’s really hot
out or the soup becomes significantly warmer when you add the tomatoes. Chopped
tomatoes lose their texture and change once they are refrigerated. Pureed
tomatoes don’t suffer this same fate. Garnish with the chopped cilantro before serving. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.

Serve with crusty bread, or add in some chunky
homemade croutons to add in a panzanella (bread salad) element.